INSTRUCTOR CHRIS BANYAI

BIOGRAPHY

I love meeting new people and sharing the adventure of sailing. There’s nothing better than helping others build their skills, knowledge, and confidence on the water while discovering just how fun sailing can be.

I grew up sailing and racing small boats around the Great Lakes, and later expanded into coastal cruising between Marina del Rey and Catalina Island with my brother. These days, you’ll often find me at Lake Pleasant aboard ReBoot, a Catalina 30 that fellow instructor Curt and I refit during COVID.

Beyond the lake, I’ve developed offshore experience crewing on delivery passages, including a 1,700-nautical-mile route from Baltimore to Bermuda to St. Thomas—building hands-on expertise in night watch, radar navigation, and weather planning along the way.